An Comhchoiste um Thalmhaíocht, Bia agus Muir
Tionscal na gCon
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
The Greyhound Industry
No. AFM 011
January 2016
An Comhchoiste um Thalmhaíocht, Bia agus Muir
Tionscal na gCon
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
The Greyhound Industry
No. AFM 011
January 2016
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Contents
Chairman’s Foreword .......................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 2
Overview and Recommendations....................................................................................... 4
1. Industry background ....................................................................................................... 9
2. Governance and administration ................................................................................... 12
2.1 Role of Statutory Boards / Governing Bodies............................................................... 12
2.2 Legislative overview (current and proposed) ............................................................... 15
3. Funding .......................................................................................................................... 18
4. Regulation, animal welfare and rearing / breeding ...................................................... 22
5. Stakeholder hearings .................................................................................................... 25
5.1 Sale of Harold’s Cross racetrack / stadium .................................................................. 25
5.2 Stakeholder communications ....................................................................................... 27
5.3 Regulation of the industry and animal welfare ............................................................. 28
5.4 Prize money and breeder’s incentive scheme.............................................................. 31
5.5 Use of prohibited substances ...................................................................................... 32
Glossary ............................................................................................................................. 33
Appendix 1: Bord na gCon turnover from racing facilities (2006-2013) ......................... 34
Appendix 2: Summary of Key Features of Legislation (Governance and Structures) .. 35
Appendix 3: C&AG Special Report into the Development of Limerick Greyhound
Racing Stadium ................................................................................................................. 36
Appendix 4: The Indecon Review and Bord na gCon response ..................................... 37
Appendix 5: Membership of the Joint Committee ........................................................... 46
Appendix 6: Terms of Reference ...................................................................................... 47
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Chairman’s Foreword
In July 2014, Indecon Consultants carried out a study (commissioned by the
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine) on certain matters relating to
the Bord na gCon (the Irish Greyhound Board). Following the publication of
the Review, the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine (the
Committee) deemed it necessary to examine the greyhound industry in Ireland
with a view to drafting a report with recommendations for legislative change.
Initially, the Committee met with representatives from Bord na gCon on its
response to the Review in November 2014.
Following this meeting, the
Committee agreed to include this topic as part of its work programme for 2015.
Because the Greyhound Industry (Amendment) Bill had been listed on the Government’s Legislative
Programme for 2015, the Committee anticipated that the General Scheme of the Bill would be published
during the year 2015 and referred to the Committee for pre-legislative scrutiny. However, when the
Committee established that the Bill was not going to be referred to it for pre-legislative scrutiny, the
Committee decided to pursue its own examination of the greyhound industry in Ireland.
It was against this background that the Committee held a meeting on 20 October 2015 with the Minister of
State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (with special responsibility for the greyhound
industry) and representatives from Bord na gCon and the Irish Greyhound Owners and Breeders
Federation.
In this Report, the Committee makes recommendations which it believes may address the issues
concerning the industry and influence the general policy debate and drafting of future legislation.
We are grateful for the assistance of the Library and Research Services and the assistance of the
Committee Secretariat in producing this report. I would like to express our appreciation to all those who
participated in the Committee deliberations.
I commend this Report to the Minister of State, Mr Tom Hayes T.D. who has responsibility for the
greyhound industry and anticipate that the recommendations put forward by the Committee can be taken
into account when drafting the heads of the Greyhound Industry (Amendment) Bill.
_______________________
Andrew Doyle T.D.
Chairman
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Introduction
The Joint Committee for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (hereinafter referred to as “the
Committee”) is examining the ‘Greyhound Racing Industry in Ireland’ as part of its 2015 Work
Programme. The Committee held a hearing with stakeholders on 20 October 2015. Oral
presentations were made and written submissions supplied to the Committee by the following
stakeholders:

The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (with
special responsibility for horticulture, forestry, the greyhound industry and food safety),
Mr Tom Hayes T.D., [Presentation here];

IGOBF [Presentation here];

Bord na gCon (BnG) [Presentation A: CEO Geraldine Larkin here and Presentation B:
Chairman Phil Meaney here].
Written submissions (only) were also received from the following stakeholders:

Dr. MJ Fox, Orchard Greyhound Sanctuary (Sole representative of the welfare
community on BnG’s Welfare Committee);

Greyhound Rescue Association of Ireland (GRAI);

Irish Coursing Club (ICC);

Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA);

Welfare Members of the International Greyhound Forum.
The aim of this Report is to provide a brief and succinct overview of the Greyhound Racing
Industry in Ireland, to detail the main points raised by stakeholders in oral and written
submissions provided to the Committee and to identify recommendations arising from its overall
examination of the topic. Issues are treated thematically as it is not within the scope of this
Report to address each issue raised in isolation.
The outline of this Paper is as follows:

Section 1 provides an overview of the economic and social background to the industry;

Section 2 refers to the governance and administration of the industry and includes a
summary of the main stakeholders and their respective remits;

Section 3 refers to the funding of BnG, a statutory, commercial semi-state body
responsible for licencing and developing the industry;

Section 4 refers to the current situation regarding regulation, animal welfare and
rearing/breeding of greyhounds;
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Section 5: provides a thematic summary of the main arguments put forward at the public
hearings and written submissions provided by industry stakeholders and the
corresponding Recommendations identified by the Committee.

A series of additional information is also appended to this Paper. Appendix 1 provides
an overview of the composition of BnG’s turnover (revenue) from 2007 to 2013.
Appendix 2 provides a summary of relevant legislation applicable to the industry.
Appendix 3 provides a summary of the C&AG Special Report into the Development of
Limerick Greyhound Racing Stadium and Appendix 4 refers to the Indecon Review into
BnG
and
its
recent
response
regarding
implementation
of
the
Indecon
recommendations.
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Overview and Recommendations

It is estimated that the greyhound racing industry in Ireland supports approximately
10,300 jobs and generates €500m for the exchequer;

BnG is the statutory, commercial State body responsible for the promotion, development
and regulation of the industry. The Board was established under the Greyhound Industry
Act, 1958 with the objective of improving and developing the greyhound industry. BnG
falls under the aegis of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (since May
2010);

According to the GRAI, for the years 2011-2013, 47,702 greyhounds were named /
registered for racing in Ireland. 18,690 were exported to the UK. According to the GRAI,
Ireland produces and exports more greyhounds than any other country in the world;

There are 17 licenced racetracks / stadia spread across Ireland. BnG directly owns and
manages eight of these and have at least some involvement in a further three. Six
racetracks are privately owned. Between 2002 and 2010, 18,211 greyhound meetings
where held across Ireland, attended by 10.25 million people.

Funding for BnG comes from a variety of sources including (a) Stadia / racetrack
admission fees; (b) concession fees from restaurant facilities; (c) a percentage deduction
from totalisator1 (tote) pools; (d) a turnover charge on on-course bookmaker betting; and
(e) exchequer funding (allocation from the HGRF). Since the establishment of the Fund
in 2001, BnG has received approximately €174.5m from the exchequer. A total of
€14.8m will be provided in 2016.

The recession in Ireland has caused a significant decline in the commercial viability of
the industry. Over the past decade, total income peaked at €78m (2007) but fell to
€39.8m in 2014, a fall of approximately 49%. This was mainly driven by a sharp fall
(55%) in daily activity revenue from €63.4m (2007) to €28.8m (2013), a fall of 55%.
Exchequer income, from the HGRF, fell 19.7% over the same period.

One prominent issue in recent years has been BnG’s debt of €21 million, arising from
the development of a new stadium in Limerick at Greenpark which opened in October
2010. The development has been the subject of a C&AG Special Report (published in
August 2014). This has effectively contributed to the doubling of BnG’s borrowing
compared to 2008 levels.
1
Totalisator refers to a system whereby investments (i.e. bets) are accepted and aggregated, and winnings are
calculated, declared and paid on a proportional basis depending on the result of a race or series of races following
prescribed formulae.
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

A Review by Indecon Consultants into ‘Certain Matters relating to BnG’ published in July
2014 made 27 recommendations to improve the financial position and commercial
viability of BnG under four headings (1) governance (2) finance (3) regulation and (4)
animal welfare. One particularly prominent aspect was the recommendation that an
asset disposal plan be compiled comprising the sale of land sites in Limerick and Cork
and the sale of the Harold’s Cross racetrack / stadium in Dublin. In terms of revenue, the
Review also states that Harold’s Cross is the second largest track after Shelbourne
Park, Dublin.

A response to the Review featuring a detailed implementation timeline was published by
BnG in October 2014. A progress report was provided to the Committee in October 2015
and is replicated in Appendix 4 of this paper.
Recommendations
The Committee has identified recommendations under the following headings:
UP-TO-DATE ECONOMIC OVERVIEW OF THE INDUSTRY (Section 1 refers)
Recommendation 1:
The figures (approximately 10,000 people employed in an industry worth an estimated
€500m) cited by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in recent responses to
Parliamentary Questions (June 2015 and July 2015) are based on the April 2011 Jim
Power report ‘The Economic and Financial Significance of the Irish Greyhound Industry in
Ireland’ commissioned by BnG. The Power report itself uses 2009 figures. The Committee
recommends that a compilation of an up-to-date economic assessment of the industry
including a full breakdown of staff working in all category levels (both public and private) in
the industry should be considered in order to more accurately reflect the current state of the
industry in Ireland
GOVERNANCE AND ADMINISTRATION (Section 2 refers)
Recommendation 2:
The Committee recommends that the integrity of the Control Committee must be
maintained and made accountable to the relevant Oireachtas Committee.
Recommendation 3:
As per the recommendations of the Indecon Review, the period for appointment of
members to the Board of the IGB not exceeding two terms or six years, the Committee
recommends that this provision must be adhered to immediately.
BORD NA GCON STRATEGIC BUSINESS PLAN FOLLOWING INDECON REVIEW (Section 3 refers)
Recommendation 4:
The Committee recommends that BnG should provide a detailed update on its progress
toward achieving the financial targets which underpin its Strategic Business Plan (20032017) based on the recent policy changes made by BnG to implement the
recommendations of the Indecon Review.
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Recommendation 5:
The Committee recommends that the targeted growth of 4% in tote betting income as
outlined in the C&AG report (2014) is essential and therefore must be strictly monitored.
Recommendation 6:
The Committee recommends that the returns of racing dog numbers from the year 2015
must be made available without delay to assist in the monitoring of the industry.
AN INDUSTRY-WIDE TRACK ASSESSMENT (Section 5.1 refers)
Recommendation 7:
As per the recommendations of the Indecon Review, BnG has reviewed the operational
performance and plans for track improvement for all its racetracks. Assessing the
commercial viability of the industry as a whole should be based, in the first instance, on the
profitability of each component racetrack across the country. Therefore, the Committee
recommends that the following should be considered to ensure that all BnG property is
efficiently utilised:
That details of the review be published;
That multiannual localised action plans be compiled detailing specific measures to
maximise the commercial viability of each track;
That an industry wide track assessment must be conducted to establish how many
individual greyhounds raced annually to assist in monitoring the number of racing dogs in
the industry.
MONITORING OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INDECON REVIEW RECOMMENDATIONS (Section 5.1
refers)
Recommendation 8:
The Committee recommends that a reoccurring examination of BnG’s implementation of
the Indecon Review’s recommendations is merited (in the form of scrutiny of BnG’s
appraisal ‘tracker’ reports of its implementation plan) and if possible, meetings between the
Committee and industry representatives /stakeholders should be facilitated to comment on
its implementation.
ESTABLISHMENT OF A CONSULTATIVE / ADVISORY FORUM OR GROUP (Section 5.2 refers)
Recommendation 9:
Bord na gCon has an important role in coordinating industry stakeholders and ensuring
coherence in terms of the strategic direction of the industry as well as leading by example
in terms of accountability, openness and transparency. Therefore, the Committee
recommends that the establishment of a formal Consultative Forum to include
Departmental officials, representatives from BnG and the IGOBF and other stakeholders,
as deemed by the Minister should be established, possibly modelled on the Racegoers’
Consultative Forum, (a statutory committee of Horse Racing Ireland). Such a Forum may
hold a recommendation-making function to convey its views to the board of BnG and meet
on a quarterly basis to consider and react to industry developments and represent the
views and interests of all industry stakeholders.
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
ENHANCING GREYHOUND WELFARE (Section 5.3 refers)
Recommendation 10:
Ensuring the highest international standards of regulation and animal welfare is vital in
protecting the reputation and the financial viability of the industry. Therefore, the Committee
recommends the following should be considered:

Given advancements in technology and monitoring systems, regularly updated,
accurate records on all registered greyhounds in Ireland should be maintained in
order for the industry and its stakeholders (as well as welfare authorities and
officers) to identify and track the numbers of injured, traded (sold/exported), retired
and deceased greyhounds in an open and transparent way. This may take the form
of a single register whereby each greyhound whelped is microchipped and recorded
on one central database by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in
collaboration with BnG and the Irish Coursing Club;

That an improved traceability regime be established, to ensure that the actions of
certain owners can be more effectively patrolled and that dogs can be traced
throughout their lifespan;

That the powers of the Welfare Committee of BnG be enhanced and extended and,
if necessary, placed on a statutory footing to ensure full independence;

More accountability should be sought from owners, including an onus to account
(and report) regularly on the status of greyhounds in their possession;

That data on greyhound welfare available to BnG, such as that on rehoming figures
from the Retired Greyhound Trust, should be provided to recognised welfare and
voluntary rescue groups or published publicly in a timely way;

That the issue of abandonment of greyhounds be treated in legislation (if necessary)
and for the rehoming / rescue of greyhounds should be actively encouraged in order
to increase the percentage of greyhounds rescued annually (from local authority
pounds and elsewhere) from 38% in 2014 and to reduce the numbers of racing
dogs euthanised annually (57% of those admitted to local authority pounds in 2014).
This may take the form of an additional funding provision from BnG to the Retired
Greyhound Trust to aid its work in finding homes for retired dogs (as recommended
in the Indecon Review – see Appendix 4, recommendation #24);

That the sanctioning regime be clarified and strengthened and that authorised
officers (i.e. the Area Stipendiary Stewards) take an increasingly proactive approach
in order to deter abuse and prevent cruelty to greyhounds and to encourage
accurate and timely reporting;

That more stringent penalties to tackle certain offences such as owners who fail to
transfer ownership when they give away or sell a registered greyhound;

That a person found guilty of serious and on-going cruelty within the industry should
receive a lifetime ban.
Recommendation 11:
The Committee recommends that the ongoing issues concerning the breeding of
greyhounds with dogs deceased for two years or more, registered in the stud book by the
ICC, must be addressed immediately.
RING-FENCING OF PRIZE MONEY (Section 5.4 refers)
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Recommendation 12:
The level of prize money directly impacts the viability of the industry. Therefore, the
Committee recommends that the Minister should instruct BnG of any additional funds
provided by the exchequer for prize money should be ring-fenced. Any unused prize money
should be returned to the exchequer and not used for debt servicing or for other operational
or marketing purposes. This should be reported to the relevant Oireachtas Committee on
an annual basis.
DRUGS IN GREYHOUND RACING (Section 5.5 refers)
Recommendation 13:
The Committee recommends that a zero tolerance policy is vital on the issue of prohibited
substances in greyhound racing. Therefore, a stringent adherence to best practice
international standards is highly recommended to protect and develop the industry for
future generations as highlighted in the Morris Report and must be expedited.
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
1. Industry background
Brief history
Greyhound racing was first introduced on the island of Ireland in April 19272 when the first
greyhound track was opened in Celtic Park in Belfast. Later that year, the Shelbourne Park
racetrack in Dublin was opened and followed by the opening of tracks at Harold’s Cross (Dublin)
and Dunmore Stadium (Belfast). The track at the Showgrounds (Cork) was opened in 19283 but
was closed and replaced by a track at Western Road (Cork) in 1935-6. Racing was first
introduced to Limerick in 1932 at the Markets Field stadium with the first race held in 1937. 4
Tracks were also opened in other towns and cities across Ireland during this period including
Dundalk (1930), Tralee (1930), Clonmel (1931), Mullingar (1932), Enniscorthy (1933) and
Galway (1934).5 The first Irish Greyhound Derby was first held at Harold’s Cross in 1928.
An economic and social overview
The greyhound racing industry is estimated to be worth approximately €5006 million annually to
the Irish economy. The industry employs approximately 10,300 people7 directly and indirectly
through supporting / ancillary businesses. Employment is spread across the country and across
various areas including:8

Catering at greyhound race tracks;

Staff employed at tracks owned by BnG;

Staff employed at privately owned tracks;

Staff employed in cleaning and security services at all racetracks / stadia;

Food and drink suppliers to catering operators;

Private and public trainers;

Greyhound food manufacturers and suppliers;

Ancillary services such as veterinary and medicine, dog owners, betting offices and a
number of miscellaneous areas.
Between 2002 and 2010, 18,211 greyhound meetings where held across Ireland, attended by
10.25 million people.9
Tracks and racecourses / stadia / recent infrastructural development
2
Teagasc (2006) Greyhounds. Factsheet No. 58, May 2006.
See www.greyhound-data.com/stadia.htm
4
Limerick Leader (2010) ‘End of an era arrives for the Markets Field’, 14 July 2010 and Limerick Enterprise
Development Partnership (2015) The Markets Field: Past, Present and Future.
5
A complete history of Irish tracks is available on the greyhound racing history website here.
6
Note these figures are from 2009 and are derived from Power (2011) The Economic and Financial Significance of
the Irish Greyhound Industry in Ireland, April 2011.
7
Ibid.
8
Response to the Parliamentary Question no. 121of 25 June 2015 [24649/15] by the Minister for Agriculture, Food
and the Marine, Simon Coveney T.D.
9
Power (2011) The Economic and Financial Significance of the Irish Greyhound Industry in Ireland, April 2011.
3
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
There are 17 greyhound stadia / racetracks in Ireland. Of these, BnG has at least some
involvement (ownership/management) in 11, while six are privately owned and operated. All
greyhound stadia / racetracks are licenced by BnG.
Table 1: Stadia / racetracks in Ireland
Position
BnG
involvement
(11)
Location
Owned and managed
(8)
Owned but privately managed
Part-owned
Managed
(1)
(1)
(1)
Privately
owned (6)
Cork
Galway
10
Cork (Youghal)
Limerick
Dublin (Shelbourne Park) Tralee
Dublin (Harold’s Cross)
Waterford
11
Clonmel
12
Mullingar
Newbridge (since March 2013)
Dundalk
Lifford (Donegal)
Enniscorthy
Longford
Kilkenny
Thurles
13
Source: C&AG (2014)
Figure 1: Location of greyhound stadia, by type
14
Source: C&AG (2014)
10
The Old Markets Field stadium (Limerick) was sold for €1.5m in 2011.The new stadium opened in October 2010.
Bord na gCon has leased the stadium to Davis Road Greyhound Stadium Plc.
12
Bord na gCon holds a 51% share in the Mullingar Stadium.
13
Comptroller and Auditor General (2014) Development of Limerick Greyhound Racing Stadium. Special Report no.
86, August 2014.
14
Comptroller and Auditor General (2014) Development of Limerick Greyhound Racing Stadium. Special Report no.
86, August 2014.
11
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Recommendation 1:
The figures (approximately 10,000 people employed in an industry worth an estimated €500m)
cited by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in recent responses to Parliamentary
Questions (June 2015 and July 2015) are based on the April 2011 Jim Power report ‘The
Economic and Financial Significance of the Irish Greyhound Industry in Ireland’ commissioned
by BnG. The Power report itself uses 2009 figures. The Committee recommends that a
compilation of an up-to-date economic assessment of the industry including a full breakdown of
staff working in all category levels (both public and private) in the industry should be considered
in order to more accurately reflect the current state of the industry in Ireland
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
2. Governance and administration
2.1 Role of Statutory Boards / Governing Bodies
The following is a summary of the key stakeholders in the greyhound racing industry and their
respective remits:
Bord na gCon / Irish Greyhound Board
BnG is a statutory, commercial semi-state body established under the Greyhound Industry Act,
1958 with the objective of regulating, improving and developing the greyhound racing industry.
BnG has broad and autonomous powers to regulate all aspects of greyhound racing, from the
licencing of stadia to the issuing of permits to officials, bookmakers and trainers.15 However,
BnG has no role in registering greyhounds in the studbook (this is a function of the ICC). BnG
employs more than 700 full and part-time staff and has an annual turnover of approximately
€40m (2013).16 There are nine permanent committees established by BnG under the 1958 Act
(as of late-2013) as follows: Control Committee, Control Appeal Committee, Audit Committee,
Ownership Committee, Remuneration Committee,
RGT, Sales Committee, Wagering
Committee and the Welfare Committee. A Scientific Committee has also been recently
established to focus on doping and medication control in greyhounds.
The mission statement of BnG is as follows:17
“To deliver a commercial, well-regulated Greyhound Racing and Breeding Industry whilst
enabling the delivery of a customer centred, highly exciting and value led entertainment
experience.”
BnG operates its racing track facilities through 11 subsidiary companies; nine being wholly
owned by BnG, one being the Mullingar track (in which it holds a 51% share) and the other
being a property holding company.18 Each subsidiary company has its own board members and
chairperson. BnG operated under the aegis of the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism from
2002 until May 2010 when responsibility transferred to the Department of Agriculture, Food and
the Marine.
BnG published its Strategic Business Plan Report in September 201319 which it considers a
blueprint for developing the industry into one which is globally competitive and sustainable.
According to the Strategic Business Plan, the industry faces a number of challenges as follows:

Fewer people are attending races and attendees are spending less;
15
Bord na gCon (2014) Annual Report – 2013. December 2014.
According to the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Tom Hayes T.D., in his
opening statement to the Joint Committee in October 2015.
17
Bord na gCon (2013) Strategic Business Plan Report, September 2013.
18
C&AG (2014) Development of Limerick Greyhound Racing Stadium – Special Report #86, August 2014.
19
Bord na gCon (2013) Strategic Business Plan Report, September 2013.
16
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The age profile of the core attendance is becoming older with a strong imperative to
attract the younger generation;

Revenue has reduced due to the proliferation of alternative attractions;

There has been an emergence of ‘sports’ wagering rather than traditional race wagering;

The UK greyhound industry has declined with direct impacts on the Irish industry.
To achieve its stated objective, the Strategic Business Plan identified a number of revenue and
organisational initiatives at BnG which will improve revenue to the company and in the industry
as a whole. These are summarised in the Table below:
Table 2: Revenue and organisational initiatives (BnG Strategic Business Plan 2013-2017)
Revenue initiatives
Organisational initiatives
 Establish Irish greyhound racing has having the
most rigorous and effective regulatory code in
the wagering industry;
 With this new improved Regulatory code in
place increase revenue earned from off-stadium
betting in Ireland and internationally;
 Stream racing events to selected international
locations;
 Continue to develop the classic race meetings
(referred to as ‘Gold Star’meetings) into major
entertainment events with top music groups,
excellent catering, celebrity attendance and
promotional packages. This approach has
already shown to increase attendance at major
events;
 Negotiate greater media coverage;
 Obtain greater income from sponsorship for
‘Gold Star’ and local meetings;
 Build higher attendance through improved
marketing including the use of social media; and
 Increase income from the Tote through new and
more aggressive offers.
 Appoint an executive team reporting to the CEO
with accountability for implementing the
Strategic Business Plan. The five member
executive team will each have the title ‘Director
of Function’, e.g., Director of Wagering & Tote;
 Improve structures across the BnG organisation
so that the strategic initiatives can be delivered
and there is role clarity for all employees; and
 Maintain the drive to further improve efficiency
and reduce costs.
Source: BnG (2013) Strategic Business Plan Report, September 2013, p.7.
Among other things, a new executive structure was proposed under the Strategic Plan whereby
the number of direct reports to the Chief Executive Officer would be reduced from 16 to 5, with
the head of HR and the internal auditor also reporting to the CEO. Under the Greyhound
Industry Act, 1958 (Section 7), the main board of BnG comprises 7 Members, all appointed by
the Minister.
Irish Greyhound Owners and Breeders Federation (IGOBF)
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
The IGOBF is a representative group for greyhound owners who, according to the Federation,
“are by far the largest investors in the Irish greyhound industry… [investing]…€244m per
annum”. The primary objectives of the Federation are:20
1. “To co-ordinate the efforts of all Associations, to safeguard the rights of the members
and to promote their best interests in so far as they relate to the breeding, rearing,
maintaining, training, racing, coursing and selling of greyhounds;
2. To make effective representation and contributions to BnG, the ICC, and to the Minister
with responsibility for the Irish greyhound industry;
3. To ensure the BnG, Boards of Directors, Track Management, and the ICC do not act to
the detriment of the members of GOBAs [Regional Greyhound Owners and Breeders
Association].”
There are eight regional associations affiliated with the Federation (known as Greyhound
Owners and Breeder’s Associations or GOBAs) representing approximately 7,000 members.
The IGOBF is included in the register of nominating bodies under the Seanad Electoral (Panel
Members) Acts, 1942-72.
The Irish Coursing Club (ICC)
The ICC manages and regulates coursing21 in Ireland and comprises 89 affiliated clubs from
Ireland and Northern Ireland. The ICC regulates coursing in Ireland under an annually-renewed
licence from the Minister of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The ICC is also responsible for the
identification and registration of greyhounds in the Irish Greyhound Studbook, the official
registry. The organisation is subject to the general control and direction of BnG under Section
26(2) of the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958. 22 Unlike BnG, the ICC is not a semi-State body and
does not receive support from the HGRF.
Greyhound Rescue Association of Ireland (GRAI)
The GRAI is an association of Irish animal rescue organisations and individuals dedicated to
promoting greyhounds as pets and acting as advocates for the breed in Ireland. The GRAI
promotes best practices in greyhound welfare. Member organisations of the GRAI are involved
with the rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming of abuse and abandoned greyhounds.23 In relation
to racing greyhounds, the GRAI states the following:
“Today Ireland produces and exports more greyhounds than any other country in the
world, and every decision in an Irish greyhound’s life is conditioned by economics.
Greyhounds are treated as disposable commodities. Each year thousands of Irish
greyhounds retire from racing. While a few live out happy retirements, many thousands
are cruelly abandoned or destroyed at the end of their racing careers.
ISPCA
20
Irish Greyhound Owners and Breeders Federation (IGOBF) website.
Coursing is defined as the sport of hunting game animals such as hares with greyhounds using sight rather than
scent.
22
See: Response to Dáil Éireann Parliamentary Question No. 464 of 9 June 2015 [21962/15].
23
See: http://grai.ie/about-grai/
21
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
The ISPCA is Ireland’s national animal welfare organisation and a member of the International
Greyhound Forum. While the direct role of the ISPCA in the greyhound industry is limited, it has
a significant role in relation to unwanted, former racing dogs which have entered local authority
dog pounds. Since May 2014, under Section 74 of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, the
IPSCA may carry out an inspection function. However,
the ISPCA does not exercise an
inspection function in relation to “a greyhound racing establishment operated by BnG or a
greyhound breeding establishment within the meaning of the Welfare of Greyhounds Act, 2011”.
The Retired Greyhound Trust (RGT)
The RGT was established in January 1997 with charitable status to promote the rehoming of
retired racing greyhounds as pets. RGT is a permanent committee of BnG established under the
Greyhound Industry Act, 1958. It has two primary aims:

To apply its funds for the relief of suffering and distress of greyhounds retired from
racing in Ireland; and in particular;

To rescue and provide care and shelter for retired, stray neglected or unwanted
greyhounds, and to find suitable homes for any such animals (through collaboration with
rehoming agencies across Europe).
RGT receives partial funding from BnG (€51,193 in 2013) and BnG hosts information on
adopting greyhounds on its website. An average of 30 greyhounds per month went on the RGT
rehoming list in 2012 and 2013.
2.2 Legislative overview (current and proposed)
BnG was established in 1958 under the Greyhound Industry Act 1958 to control greyhound
racing and improve and development the greyhound racing industry in Ireland. The Greyhound
Industry (Amendment) Act 1993 made a number of minor amendments to the 1958 Act and at
the time of its introduction a more comprehensive bill was promised ‘as soon as possible’. The
1993 Act, among other things, removed the requirement that three Board members be members
of the ICC and reduced from five to three years the term of office for Board members. There
were also changes made to the practise of coursing including the requirement for dogs to be
muzzled.
Racing is specifically governed by Greyhound Industry (Racing) Regulations 2007 and
Greyhound Industry (Control Committee and Control Appeal Committee) Regulations 2007
which replaced the earlier Greyhound Race Track (Racing) Regulations 1993.
These
regulations included some of the recommendations from the Dalton Report in respect of doping
(see Dalton Report, pgs. 27-47).
Page 15
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Box 1: The Dalton Report
In February 2006 the then Minister for Arts Sports and Tourism, John O’Donoghue appointed
Tim Dalton (former Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform)
to inquire into corporate governance practices and procedures for dealing with doping
infringements at BnG following specific public controversy. The Report, entitled Report on
Certain Matters Affecting BnG and published in June 2006, recommended a number of
corporate governance changes including that the roles of Board Members need to be clarified,
that a performance management system should be introduced and other changes relating to
the appointment of Board Members and duration of membership. The Report also
recommended a number of procedures to tackle doping in the industry including testing, the
banning of additional substances, the creation of an appeals mechanism and stated penalties
for contravening the 1958 Act.
In response to the Dalton Report, BnG announced a new administrative system for doping
control including an independent control committee to investigate and sanction those involved.
The Control Committee is now comprised of five people not on the Board or involved with
greyhound racing and must include a vet and a practising barrister or solicitor. A Control Appeal
Committee was also established comprised of three people independent of the Board and
industry at least one of which must be a vet and another must be a practising barrister or
solicitor.
The Welfare of Greyhounds Act, 2011 provides for the regulation of the operation of greyhound
breeding to be optimised and established a register of greyhound breeding establishments.
Horse Racing Ireland Act, 2015
This Bill amends and extends the Irish Horseracing Industry Act 1994 and the Horse and
Greyhound Racing Act 2001. The Bill proposes, among other things, that the Minister (for
Agriculture, Food and the Marine) will have the authority to determine the number and amount
of instalments payable to HRI and BnG “following assessment of the financial needs of HRI and
BnG and in the event that the financial needs of either body alter significantly the Minister may
alter the number and amount of the instalments”. Section 15 (c) also allows the Minister to
withhold any or all instalments or part of an instalment to either HRI or BnG where certain
concerns arise.
Government support for the horse and greyhound racing industries is provided under the HGRF
(established under section 12 of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act, 2001). In accordance
with the Act, 80% and 20% of the monies paid into the Fund each year are distributed between
HRI and BnG, respectively. The amounts provided under this measure are approved by both
Houses of the Oireachtas on an annual basis. In 2013 and 2014, amounts of €44,016,000 and
€43,376,000 respectively were paid from the Fund to HRI.24
24
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Simon Coveney T.D.), Written Answers Nos. 161-167 of 29 January
2014.
Page 16
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
The Bill was presented to Dáil Éireann on 1 October 201525 and has since completed all stages.
The Bill is currently with the Seanad at the time of publication.
Greyhound Industry (Amendment) Bill [Proposed]
A Greyhound Industry (Amendment) Bill is proposed. The Bill will amend and extend the
Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 and the Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011. The expected
publication date is 2016.26
It is expected that the Bill will treat a number of issues identified in the Indecon Review of
Certain Matters into BnG published in July 2014, primarily in relation to industry regulation and
greyhound welfare. A number of issues highlighted in the Review are, according to BnG27,
subject to enactment of legislation, as follows:

Facilitating the access by the statutory independent Greyhound Racing Control
Committee and Control Appeal Committee to scientific and legal expertise;

Facilitate the staggered appointments to which Committees; and

Allow BnG and the ICC to independently serve exclusion and disqualification orders;
Appendix 2 provides a summary of the existing legislation related to the greyhound racing
industry.
Recommendation 2:
The Committee recommends that the integrity of the Control Committee must be maintained
and made accountable to the relevant Oireachtas Committee.
Recommendation 3:
As per the recommendations of the Indecon Review, the period for appointment of members to
the Board of the IGB not exceeding two terms or six years, the Committee recommends that
this provision must be adhered to immediately.
25
See: http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=/documents/bills28/bills/2015/8315/document1.htm
According to the Government’s Autumn 2015 Legislative Programme .
27
Bord na gCon (2014) Irish Greyhound Board response to Indecon Report of Certain Matters Relating to Bord na
gCon – Appendix 4, October 2014.
26
Page 17
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
3. Funding
Funding for BnG comes from a variety of sources, including the following:

Stadia / racetrack admission fees;

Concession fees from restaurant facilities;

A percentage deduction from totalisator (tote) pools;

A turnover charge on on-course bookmaker betting; and

Exchequer funding (allocation from the Horse and Greyhound Fund).
Over the past decade, total income peaked at €78m (2007) but fell to €39.8m in 2013, a fall of
approximately 49%. This is mainly driven by a sharp fall in daily activity revenue from €63.4m
(2007) to €28.8m (2013), a fall of 55%. Exchequer income, from the HGRF, fell 19.7% over the
same period (see Appendix 1).
Funding for the industry (i.e. BnG) comes from income generated by racing facilities and by an
Exchequer subvention through the HGRF which was established under the Horse and
Greyhound Racing Act 2001.28 The Fund was set up to aid the development of both industries
and to facilitate investment in necessary infrastructure and provide for increased prize money
while also compensating for the loss of income arising from the abolition of the on-course
bookmaker levy.29 There is an 80/20 split between the horse and greyhound industry
respectively. Proportionally, income from the Horse and Greyhound Fund has risen as a share
of total income from 17.9% (2005) to 27.7% (2013) though the nominal amount over the same
period as fallen from €13.7m (2005) to €11m (2013).
Chart 1: Financial performance of Bord na gCon (2005-2013) - €
90,000,000
80,000,000
70,000,000
60,000,000
50,000,000
40,000,000
30,000,000
20,000,000
10,000,000
0
2006
2007
2008
Revenue from activities (A)
2009
2010
2011
Exchequer funding /HGRF (B)
2012
2013
Total (A+B)
Source: BnG Annual Reports (2005-2013)
28
29
Enacted in July 2001.
As specified in the BnG 2001 Annual Report, p. 3.
Page 18
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Table 3: The Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund (Greyhound industry) - Bord na gCon
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
63.4
14.0
77.4
14.0
18.1
63.4
14.5
78.0
14.5
18.7
58.0
15.3
73.3
15.3
20.8
43.0
13.6
56.6
13.6
24.0
32.9
11.8
44.7
11.8
26.5
31.8
11.5
43.3
11.4
26.4
30.0
11.3
41.3
11.3
27.3
28.8
11.0
39.8
11.0
27.7
€m
Revenue from activities (A)
Exchequer funding /HGRF (B)
Total (A+B)
Exchequer funding /HGRF (€m)
Exchequer funding (% of total)
62.6
13.7
76.3
13.7
17.9
Source: BnG Annual Reports (2005-2013) and Indecon (2014) Review of Certain Matters Relating to BnG, p.ii. See
Appendix 1 for a more detailed breakdown on nominal and proportional revenue (2006-2013)
Over the period 2001-2013, since the establishment of the Fund in 2001, BnG has received
approximately €174.5m from the exchequer.30 BnG received €10.4m from the Fund in 2014 and
will receive €13.6m in 2015. Its forecast allocation (under Budget 2016) is €14.8m for 2016. This
yields a forecast total of €213.3m over the period 2001-2016.
Proportionally, revenue from racing facilities has remained relatively constant since 2005/6. As
illustrated overleaf (see also Appendix 1), tote receipts comprise the majority share of income
but have slightly declined over time from 79.6% (2006) to 74.1% (2013). The share of income
from bookmakers has increased from 9% (2006) to 10.6% (2013) while income from combined
(private and Board owned) track entry fees has increased from 1.4% (2006) to 4.4% (2013).
Chart 2: Bord na gCon revenue from racing facilities only (2006-2013)
by racing activity - €
70,000,000
Net return on Pension
Scheme Assets
60,000,000
Misscellaneous
50,000,000
Dog Sales Commission
40,000,000
Entry Fees - Board /
Private Tracks
Sponsorship - Board /
Private Tracks
30,000,000
Catering income
20,000,000
Gate receipts /
programme sales
Bookmaker income
10,000,000
Tote receipts
0
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Source: Indecon (2014) Review of Certain Matters Relating to BnG, p.ii.
30
Note the Fund was established under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Act, 2001 which was enacted in July
2001. The figure provided for 2001 in the BnG Annual Accounts refers to ‘Oireachtas Grants’ rather than to the Fund.
However, the Annual Report states that due to the establishment of the Fund, €12.7m funding to the Board is
“effectively guarantee[d]”.
Page 19
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Financial implications of the Strategic Business Plan (2013-2017)
To counteract declining revenue from racing activities, the Board has set out a number of
strategic financial objectives to grow revenue to 2017 and to substantially reduce bank
borrowings (by €17m). The key assumptions underpinning the achievement of this borrowing
target are:31

Growth of 4% a year in tote betting income (all stadia);

Significant growth in other income including new forms of income; and

Growth of 6% in overall gate receipts (all stadia);
The specific Strategic forecasts and assumptions for BnG are as follows:

Grow total income to €50.9m in 2017 (for comparison, 2013 income was €41.3m and
2014 income was €39.8m);

Increase tote turnover to €28m by 2017 (for comparison, 2013 tote turnover was
€20.8m);

Increase prize money from €7.2m (17.4% of projected income) in 2012 to €9.4m (18.4%
of projected income) in 2017;

Reduce overheads over the period 2012-2017 to yield a surplus in 2017 of €2.4m;

Continue to contribute €0.5m annual pension contributions over the period 20122017;

The allocation from the Horse & Greyhound Racing Fund within the time period to
2017 will remain at €11.0m per annum.32
In its meeting with the Committee (20 October 2015), BnG indicated that the “most significant”
difference between the Strategic Plan (detailed above) and the Indecon Review is in relation to
the pace of debt repayment. The Indecon Review envisages an accelerated pace of debt
reduction (to €7m by end-2017) compared with the Strategic Plan (€17m by end-2017).
Recommendation 4:
The Committee recommends that BnG should provide a detailed update on its progress toward
achieving the financial targets which underpin its Strategic Business Plan (2003-2017) based
on the recent policy changes made by BnG to implement the recommendations of the Indecon
Review.
31
C&AG (2014) ’Development of Limerick Greyhound Racing Stadium’, August 2014.
The Minister of State with responsibility for the Greyhound Industry at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the
Marine has subsequently announced that funding to the industry from the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund for
2016 will increase to €14.8m.
32
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Recommendation 5:
The Committee recommends that the targeted growth of 4% in tote betting income as outlined
in the C&AG report (2014) is essential and therefore must be strictly monitored.
Recommendation 6:
The Committee recommends that the returns of racing dog numbers from the year 2015 must
be made available without delay to assist in the monitoring of the industry.
Page 21
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
4. Regulation, animal welfare and rearing / breeding
Regulation
BnG is responsible for the regulation of the industry under the Greyhound Racing Industry Act,
1958. The regulatory powers have been amended by legislation and supplemented by a
number of Statutory Instruments (SIs).
An executive position of Director of Racing Governance and Compliance within BnG was first
filled in May 2014. This Director is responsible for ensuring that the existing regulatory and
compliance system is fully observed by all participants in the industry and for developing an
enhanced regulatory code to ensure the highest integrity of greyhound racing in Ireland. The
two central bodies for regulation are the Control Committee and the Control Appeal Committee
of BnG which are responsible for, among other things, decisions when positive tests for
prohibited substances are identified in racing greyhounds.
The Indecon Review recommended a number of measures to strengthen regulatory processes
and procedures, some of which has been implemented to date.33 In particular, the Review
highlighted the lack of information regarding the publication of adverse analytical findings in
relation to testing of greyhounds for prohibited substances. The Review also referred to the
need for the implementation of mandatory penalties such as disqualification of greyhounds
following adverse testing results. From 1 October 201534 (under new statutory instruments),
both recommendations were implemented as follows:

From 1 October 2015, the result of any adverse analytical tests of a greyhound for
prohibited substances will be published (following confirmation of the presence of
banned substances and ahead of a hearing by the Greyhound industry’s Control
Committee)
(Greyhound
Industry
(Control
Committee
and
Control
Appeal
Committee)(Amendment) Regulation, 2015); and

Information relating to that greyhound will also be published and the greyhound
immediately banned from racing until a further a test is undertaken (Greyhound
Industry (Racing) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations, 2015);
33
For example, as detailed by the Minister for State, Tom Hayes T.D., in his presentation to the Joint Committee on
20 October 2015, from 1 October the results of any adverse analytical result from a greyhound tested for a prohibited
substance will be published on the BnG website.
34
Bord na gCon (2015) ‘The Irish Greyhound Board (IGB) Has Announced a Major Strengthening of its Regulatory
Controls to Enhance Integrity in Racing’, 22 September 2015.
Page 22
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
BnG has also established a scientific Committee on doping and medication control to advise the
board which will take into account the relevant recommendations of the Morris Report.35
It is also proposed that mandatory sentences be applied for certain offences, however as
indicated by BnG, this will likely entail primary legislation through the proposed Greyhound
Industry (Amendment) Bill.
Animal welfare
As detailed in Section 2.1, both BnG and the ICC have regulatory responsibility for the
greyhound industry. Incidents of greyhound cruelty are investigated by BnG and sanctions are
recommended where an individual is found to be in breach of the Welfare of Greyhounds Act,
2011. The official registered owner is responsible for the welfare, action and whereabouts of
their greyhounds however both the registered owner and the nominated keeper of the
greyhound “shall both take full responsibility for the physical and social well-being of the
greyhound” and shall do so “with full regard to its welfare”.36
According to the Indecon Review (p. vii):
“Apart from compliance with the rules of racing, ensuring satisfactory greyhound welfare
is an important objective for BnG. Concern has been expressed in submissions to the
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine about the welfare and fate of retiring
greyhounds and the number of unwanted greyhounds.
BnG have a number of initiatives in place to support animal welfare. These include the
attendance of veterinary surgeons at racing and sales trials. The Board also employs
personnel to oversee greyhound welfare including a Welfare Manager and a Welfare
Committee has been established.”
The Review recommended a series of measures including a strengthening and expansion of the
existing sanctioning regime. As such, a Greyhound Industry (Amendment) Bill is proposed. The
Bill will amend and extend the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 and the Welfare of Greyhounds
Act 2011. The expected publication date is 2016.37 It is expected that the Bill will treat a number
of issues identified in the Indecon Review of Certain Matters into BnG published in July 2014,
primarily in relation to industry regulation and greyhound welfare. A number of issues
highlighted in the Review are, according to BnG,38 subject to enactment of legislation, as
follows:

Facilitating the access by the statutory independent Greyhound Racing Control
Committee and Control Appeal Committee to scientific and legal expertise;
35
Bord na gCon has commissioned Professor Tim Morris, an independent scientific advisor to the Greyhound Board
of Britain, to report on integrity and control systems in the industry, specifically related to anti-doping and medication
procedures.
36
Bord na gCon (2011) Irish Greyhound Board – Code of Practice in the Care & Welfare of the Greyhound.
37
According to the Government’s Autumn 2015 Legislative Programme.
38
Bord na gCon (2014) Irish Greyhound Board response to Indecon Report of Certain Matters Relating to Bord na
gCon – Appendix 3, October 2014.
Page 23
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Facilitate the staggered appointments to Committees; and

Allow BnG and the ICC to independently serve exclusion and disqualification orders;
Rearing / breeding
In addition to animal welfare issues, the Review also noted that an issue for the sector is “to
ensure sufficient number of active owners and an active breeding sector” as a minimum number
of registered greyhounds is required to maintain a viable industry in Ireland. The Review found
that the numbers of greyhounds registered in Ireland have declined significantly since 2004. In
absolute terms there are just over 8,000 fewer registered and named greyhounds in 2013 than
in 2006, a fall of 34%. All indicators show significant declines, as follows:

Active owners: 42.6% decrease from 2007 to 2013;

No. of greyhounds mated: 34% decrease from 2006 to 2013;

No. of greyhound litters: 36.6% decrease from 2006 to 2013;
A number of recommended measures relating to the areas of regulation, animal welfare and
breeding were included in the Indecon Review, commissioned by the Department of Agriculture,
Food and the Marine and published in July 2014. A summary of the recommendations of the
Indecon Review is supplied in Appendix 4.
Page 24
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
5. Stakeholder hearings
The following is a thematic summary of the main arguments put forward at the public hearing
and in written submissions by stakeholders and the corresponding Recommendations identified
by the Committee.
5.1 Sale of Harold’s Cross racetrack / stadium
The Indecon Review recommends the sale of, among other things, Harold’s Cross racetrack in
Dublin in order to improve the legacy debt position and commercial viability of BnG.
The Minister of State highlighted that no alternative to the sale of the track at Harold’s Cross has
been presented to him and that the debt at €22 million “is not sustainable in to the future”. He
indicated that BnG is working on obtaining planning permission to enhance the value of the
property in order to maximise the realisable sale price and (by extension) the level of debt which
can be paid down. Comparing the situation with the horse racing industry, the Minister of State
highlighted that where once there was three racecourses in the Dublin region, today there is
only one and concluded that “there is an argument for going with that model and doing the
same thing with Shelbourne Park” (which would become the only greyhound stadium in Dublin).
BnG has previously indicated a commitment to selling the stadium39 and stated that it is
profitable “to the tune of €200,000 in 2013” and that the “reality of the situation the [BnG] is in is
that its debts are far greater than any continued operation of Harold’s Cross would realise,
assuming we can dispose of the asset with full zoning”. At that time (November 2014), BnG
stated that a detailed plan had not yet been submitted to the Department but that a general plan
including indicative timelines was submitted. In its meeting with the Committee (20 October
2015), BnG stated that it had looked at alternatives, but that these are very limited. The BnG
detailed a number of reasons for this, as follows:

BnG may only sell tracks owned by the Board which rules out one of the tracks in Cork;

The two Dublin tracks are “within 2.5 kilometres of one another” and so “one has to close
for the other to [remain] open” as “it is not the case that both tracks are simultaneously
operating and making a profit”;

The decision to sell is not just based on financial performance as the impact of taking a
track out of commission is also assessed (in terms of dog pools, performance etc.).
39
According to evidence provided by BnG in a meeting with the Committee of Public Accounts on 27 November
2014.
Page 25
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

There is an “imperative need” to reduce the debt to a sustainable level quickly. The
Indecon Review recommends an accelerated plan for repayment of debt (to be reduced
to €7m by 2017, from €22m, i.e. by €15m);40

The sale would significantly reduce the interest due each year and free up cash flow
which can then be put back into the industry in terms of capital investment which has
been stalled for a number of years;
The IGOBF criticised the potential sale stating that would not solve the existing problems in the
wider industry as most tracks are loss-making (with the notable exception of Shelbourne Park,
Dublin and Harold’s Cross, Dublin). As such, the Federation stated it did not support selling a
profitable track with potential for further development. In other evidence, the Federation stated
that the track is performing well in 2015 so far (+22% in Quarter 1) and that it represents the
only “Dublin owner’s track” where a lower class of greyhounds can compete. The Federation
recommended a thorough assessment be conducted to establish the current position of all
racetracks in Ireland.
The Indecon Review recommended that poorly performing racetracks be reviewed
(recommendation #8). A review of “operational performance and plans for track improvement”
was also included as a key deliverable by BnG and was classified as “implemented” according
to an October 2015 update.41 Furthermore, BnG stated that, at least based solely on tote
receipts, “…almost all tracks are profitable”.
Recommendation 7:
As per the recommendations of the Indecon Review, BnG has reviewed the operational
performance and plans for track improvement for all its racetracks. Assessing the commercial
viability of the industry as a whole should be based, in the first instance, on the profitability of
each component racetrack across the country. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the
following should be considered to ensure that all BnG property is efficiently utilised:

That details of the review be published;

That multiannual localised action plans be compiled detailing specific measures to
maximise the commercial viability of each track;

That an industry wide track assessment must be conducted to establish how many
individual greyhounds raced annually to assist in monitoring the number of racing dogs
in the industry.
40
Notably, BnG CEO Geraldine Larkin referred to the issue as the “more long-term” disposal of Harold’s Cross
stadium.
41
Bord na gCon (2015) IGB response to recommendations made in the Indecon Report, 16 October 2015 (material
provided to the Joint Committee).
Page 26
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Recommendation 8:
The Committee recommends that a reoccurring examination of BnG’s implementation of the
Indecon Review’s recommendations is merited (in the form of scrutiny of BnG’s appraisal
‘tracker’ reports of its implementation plan) and if possible, meetings between the Committee
and industry representatives /stakeholders should be facilitated to comment on its
implementation.
5.2 Stakeholder communications
Communications between BnG and the Irish Greyhounds Owners and Breeders Federation
(IGOBF) in particular was raised as a concern by a number of Committee Members. The IGOBF
has been highly critical of the Board and its operations in key and reiterated this in published
press releases and in the Committee meeting, primarily in relation to the issue of
communications (generally) and what it perceives to be a lack of consultation.
The Minister of State acknowledged that the industry (i.e. the stakeholders) is very divided.
Furthermore, he stated that communicating and consulting with the IGOBF “has occupied a
huge amount of time for me” and stated that a united voice for the industry is his preference to
ensure a coherent voice and structure. For example, BnG, referring to the sale of Harold’s
Cross stadium stated that it would discuss transitional issues surrounding the sale with the
Dublin Greyhound Owners and Breeders Association (GOBA) and did not refer to the
Federation in this regard.
The IGOBF stated it was in favour of consolidation and would support the creation of a unified
organisation representing the owners and breeders. However, the Federation highlighted a
problem whereby it meets with the CEO of BnG rather than the board as a whole.
BnG rejected the IGOBF’s contention and stated that it was “amazed” at the perception of lack
of communication. The Chairman stated that he has not turned down any meeting requests and
that he is open to communication and is “fully supportive” of owners, breeders and greyhound
representatives as, BnG believes, “we will never have a true greyhound industry until we have
all members working together”.
However, BnG (in agreement with the Minister of State)
described the industry as “hugely fragmented” and noted that following a public consultation on
an incentive scheme to grow and develop ownership and greyhound pools, the IGOBF did not
provide a submission. BnG stated that the problem may rest in a lack of agreement from all
stakeholders in relation to the industry direction.
Page 27
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Recommendation 9:
BnG has an important role in coordinating industry stakeholders and ensuring coherence in
terms of the strategic direction of the industry as well as leading by example in terms of
accountability, openness and transparency. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the
establishment of a formal Consultative Forum to include Departmental officials, representatives
from BnG and the IGOBF and other stakeholders, as deemed by the Minister should be
established, possibly modelled on the Racegoers’ Consultative Forum, (a statutory committee
of Horse Racing Ireland). Such a Forum may hold a recommendation-making function to
convey its views to the board of BnG and meet on a quarterly basis to consider and react to
industry developments and represent the views and interests of all industry stakeholders.
5.3 Regulation of the industry and animal welfare
The Department (through the Minister of State) stated that it is the Government’s intention to
enhance the existing regulatory regime in the greyhound industry by doing the following:

Provide for Members of the independent Control Committee to be appointed by the
Minister of the day;

Facilitate explicit provision for penalties; and

Address the question of mandatory sanctions;
This is in addition to changes which will be implemented under the Horse Racing Ireland Bill
2015 to provide for the appointment of persons as authorised officers under the animal
remedies legislation and recent secondary legislation on the publication of adverse analytical
testing results and the banning of greyhounds.
The Minister also stated that BnG has commissioned Professor Tim Morris, an independent
scientific advisor to the Greyhound Board of Britain to report on integrity and control systems in
the industry, specifically related to anti-doping and medication procedures. The Minister
furthermore stated that developing a strong welfare culture “must be a top priority and the
strongest action must be taken against those who would threaten the reputation of this sector by
failing to look after their dogs properly”. As stated by the Minister, the Welfare of Greyhounds
Act, 2011 provides a robust legal framework for all the necessary action.
The IGOBF rejected the premise that the Control Committee is independent and “it is not
mentioned in the legislation and it is BnG who pays the members”.
A number of stakeholders expressed specific concerns over the coursing and welfare aspects
of the industry. The Welfare Members of the International Greyhound Forum stated that while it
is not calling for a ban on greyhound racing, it believes that certain issues need addressing,
namely:

The funding allocation from BnG to the RGT which it claims is down to €51,193 in 2013
from €131,763 in 2013, a reduction of 61%;
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The lack of record keeping for retired greyhounds and lack of accurate figures relating
to racing greyhounds generally;

The lack
of regular reporting in relation to injury statistics and the number of
greyhounds traded overseas;

The lack of exclusion orders or disqualification orders (from the Stud Book) issued
owing to reports of greyhound cruelty.
The Forum did note however that a Welfare and Racing Supports Manager reports to the Head
of Regulation of BnG and is assisted in his duties by Area Stipendiary Stewards who may (if
called upon) conduct inspections of kennels, investigations of stray greyhounds and deal with
other welfare-related incidents.
These concerns were also raised by a number of other stakeholders. The Orchard Greyhound
Sanctuary (Dr. MJ Fox) 42 stated that, considering the large numbers of greyhounds required to
sustain the industry, appropriate levels of funding from the HGRF should be allocated to the
RGT (“…budget of approximately €200,000 needs to increase by five to ten times its current
amount”) and that BnG needs to work with the other voluntary rescue groups and offer support.
The Sanctuary also recommended that a special fund be set up by the Department of
Agriculture, Food and the Marine to support greyhound rescues and related organisations that
support unwanted greyhounds. The issue of unwanted greyhounds was also raised by the
ISCPA43 which recommended that increased penalties be imposed for breaches of the Welfare
of Greyhounds Act, 2011 particular for owners who fail to transfer ownership when they give
away or sell a greyhound. The issue of abandonment of greyhounds was also raised by the ICC
which recommended that the Welfare of Greyhounds Act, 2011 be amended to take account of
this issue.
The ISPCA also acknowledged that while “significant inroads” have been made by BnG in
recent years in terms of improving the welfare of dogs involved in racing and coursing, there
remain issues regarding traceability (and therefore, accountability). Track management,
traceability and the level of injuries was also raised by the GRAI which highlighted that in 2014,
717 injuries were reported arising from dogs skidding and crashing on the surface of
inadequately maintained tracks. The GRAI also noted that 3-4 dogs are euthanised at each
operational racing track every Saturday. In relation to traceability, the GRAI noted that the
lifespan of a greyhound is 14 years on average, but the lifespan of a racing greyhound is 3 or 4
42
According to the submission of the Orchard Greyhound Sanctuary, Dr. Fox is currently the sole representative of
the welfare community on Bord na gCon’s Welfare Committee. Dr. Fox was also active in the formation of the GRAI
and was, until recently, a regular member of the International Greyhound Forum. Both the GRAI and the Forum
provided written submissions to the Joint Committee to assist in its investigation of this topic.
43
ISPCA inspectors do not exercise their inspection function in relation to a greyhound racing establishment
operated by Bord na gCon or a greyhound breeding establishment within the meaning of the Welfare of Greyhounds
Act, 2011.
Page 29
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
years. Many of these dogs are either euthanised or end up in local authority pounds. As such,
the GRAI states that “it is impossible to place a concrete figure on the number of Irish registered
greyhounds currently living (or even actively racing) in Ireland”. The Association also noted that
the unavailability of accurate numbers, combined with the “official ICC registration procedure
which allows for a greyhound to be registered at any age” makes it impossible to make accurate
industry calculations.
The capacity of the Welfare Committee of BnG was raised by the ICC and Orchard Greyhound
Sanctuary (Dr. MJ Fox). Both organisations recommended that the Committee’s functions be
expanded beyond recommendation-making and for additional (independent) powers be granted
in order for it to respond quickly and effectively to prevailing concerns in the industry. The ICC 44
also recommended that the Committee itself be placed on a statutory footing.
The ICC also raised a number of concerns in relation to illegal hunting, conservation and
repopulation of the Irish hare, and depopulation of the European brown hare. The ISPCA also
stated that a ban on the coursing of live hares should be considered.
Collaboration between BnG and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has
yielded positive results, according to BnG which also restated its commitment to publishing data
on the numbers of welfare inspections and penalties imposed on the welfare section within the
resource centre on the BnG website and also in the Sporting Press on a regular basis.
Recommendation 10:
Ensuring the highest international standards of regulation and animal welfare is vital in
protecting the reputation and the financial viability of the industry. Therefore, the Committee
recommends the following should be considered:
 Given advancements in technology and monitoring systems, regularly updated, accurate
records on all registered greyhounds in Ireland should be maintained in order for the
industry and its stakeholders (as well as welfare authorities and officers) to identify and
track the numbers of injured, traded (sold/exported), retired and deceased greyhounds in
an open and transparent way. This may take the form of a single register whereby each
greyhound whelped is microchipped and recorded on one central database by the
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in collaboration with BnG and the Irish
Coursing Club;
 That an improved traceability regime be established, to ensure that the actions of certain
owners can be more effectively patrolled and that dogs can be traced throughout their
lifespan;
 That the powers of the Welfare Committee of BnG be enhanced and extended and, if
necessary, placed on a statutory footing to ensure full independence;
 More accountability should be sought from owners, including an onus to account (and
report) regularly on the status of greyhounds in their possession;
 That data on greyhound welfare available to BnG, such as that on rehoming figures from
the Retired Greyhound Trust, should be provided to recognised welfare and voluntary
rescue groups or published publicly in a timely way;
44
The ICC is responsible for issuing fixed payment notices in relation to breaches of the Welfare of
Greyhounds Act, 2011.
Page 30
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
 That the issue of abandonment of greyhounds be treated in legislation (if necessary) and
for the rehoming / rescue of greyhounds should be actively encouraged in order to increase
the percentage of greyhounds rescued annually (from local authority pounds and
elsewhere) from 38% in 2014 and to reduce the numbers of racing dogs euthanised
annually (57% of those admitted to local authority pounds in 2014). This may take the form
of an additional funding provision from BnG to the Retired Greyhound Trust to aid its work
in finding homes for retired dogs (as recommended in the Indecon Review – see Appendix
4, recommendation #24);
 That the sanctioning regime be clarified and strengthened and that authorised officers (i.e.
the Area Stipendiary Stewards) take an increasingly proactive approach in order to deter
abuse and prevent cruelty to greyhounds and to encourage accurate and timely reporting;
 That more stringent penalties to tackle certain offences such as owners who fail to transfer
ownership when they give away or sell a registered greyhound;
 That a person found guilty of serious and on-going cruelty within the industry should receive
a lifetime ban.
Recommendation 11:
The Committee recommends that the ongoing issues concerning the breeding of greyhounds
with dogs deceased for two years or more, registered in the stud book by the ICC, must be
addressed immediately.
5.4 Prize money and breeder’s incentive scheme
The Minister stated that it is his desire that the additional funds allocated to the industry (i.e.
BnG) for 2016 “should be given back to the greyhound trainers, owners and breeders” in the
form of increased prize money. The IGOBF strongly criticised the recent cuts to prize money, as
follows:
“The first action of the newly appointed chief executive [of BnG] was to cut prize money
by 20%. That is one of the reasons owners walked away. A prize of €200 was cut by
20%. As a result, a dog would have to win 13 graded races in a year to pay for itself.
Some dogs would not even get to run 13 times, never mind win every one of its races.”
BnG confirmed to the Committee that the additional funding will be directly, at least partially,
toward an increase in prize money. According to the Chairman, Mr. Phil Meaney:
“The additional moneys announced in last week’s budget will be targeted directly at the
industry, through significant increases in prize money and the development of other
supports”.
However, BnG also faces other financial constraints such as the debt issues and a lack of
money to market the industry. Notably, BnG indicated that it intends to make €1.3m in debt
repayments in 2015 “part of [which] will come from the increased allocation this year from
Government funding”.
Recommendation 12:
The level of prize money directly impacts the viability of the industry. Therefore, the Committee
recommends that the Minister should instruct BnG of any additional funds provided by the
Page 31
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
exchequer for prize money should be ring-fenced. Any unused prize money should be returned
to the exchequer and not used for debt servicing or for other operational or marketing
purposes. This should be reported to the relevant Oireachtas Committee on an annual basis.
5.5 Use of prohibited substances
The use of controlled and illegal substances in greyhound racing in Ireland is of grave concern.
Following a recommendation of the Indecon Review, BnG has published the Control Committee
report results for 2013 and 2014 which detail outcomes of situations where prohibited
substances were found to be present in samples taken from racing greyhounds across the
country. BnG also stated to the Committee that it supports mandatory penalties for a range of
offences but that this will entail changes to primary legislation. In the interim, increased
penalties in the form of monetary fines and testing orders have been imposed.
However the Welfare Members of the International Welfare Committee noted that between 2011
and 2013, as a result of 30 investigations, fixed notice penalties were issued in only 4 cases but
no exclusion orders or disqualification order were issued.
As identified by the GRAI, the use of performance enhancing drugs (i.e. anabolic steroids),
narcotics such as cocaine and pharmaceuticals such as Viagra is widespread across the
industry in Britain. The GRAI also specifically highlighted an issue with stanozolol (an anabolic
steroid) whereby it is possible for the presence of the drug to go undetected owing to testing
techniques in the BnG laboratories.
IGOBF stated that dogs on medication should not be racing, in accordance with a zero
tolerance policy. However, according to the Federation, this policy is not followed by BnG who
insist following a ‘threshold’ / tolerance level approach. IGOBF strongly recommends that any
dog which tests positive for a prohibited substance be immediately disqualified, regardless of
how that substance entered the animal.
Recommendation 13:
The Committee recommends that a zero tolerance policy is vital on the issue of prohibited
substances in greyhound racing. Therefore, a stringent adherence to best practice international
standards is highly recommended to protect and develop the industry for future generations as
highlighted in the Morris Report and must be expedited.
Page 32
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Glossary
BnG
Bord na gCon (Irish Greyhound Board)
C&AG
Comptroller and Auditor General
GOBA
Regional Greyhound Owners and Breeders Association
GRAI
Greyhound Rescue Association of Ireland
HGRF
Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund
HRI
Horse Racing Ireland
ICC
Irish Coursing Club
IGOBF
Irish Greyhound Owners and Breeders Federation
ISPCA
Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
RGT
Retired Greyhound Trust
SIs
Statutory Instruments
Page 33
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Appendix 1: Bord na gCon turnover from racing facilities (2006-2013)
The following are comparative tables detailing the composition of turnover (revenue) of BnG
over the period 2006-2013.
Table 4: Nominal turnover45
Tote receipts
Bookmaker income
Gate
receipts
/
programme sales
Catering income
Sponsorship - Board /
Private Tracks
Entry Fees - Board /
Private Tracks
Dog Sales Commission
Miscellaneous
Net return on Pension
Scheme Assets
Total
2006
€
50,527,818
864,612
2007
€
48,361,958
743,269
2008
€
44,045,453
777,914
2009
€
32,884,036
606,036
2010
€
24,464,543
429,709
2011
€
23,868,379
357,193
2012
€
22,155,001
306,629
2013
€
20,856,142
263,498
5,687,521
5,916,970
5,466,583
3,821,485
3,175,876
3,252,220
3,015,381
3,031,081
3,001,565
3,022,696
2,722,732
1,672,756
1,365,262
1,407,342
1,231,959
1,290,709
1,245,402
2,097,456
1,742,962
1,508,889
896,562
944,612
954,769
878,874
890,856
1,666,680
1,705,896
1,566,136
1,390,758
1,302,920
1,233,460
1,235,312
67,020
981,767
39,450
1,264,470
29,382
1,296,617
28,832
1,112,935
17,582
1,158,173
16,151
1,152,868
6,816
1,168,618
5,718
1,149,427
189,000
321,000
239,000
22,000
-31,000
-430,000
-480,000
-550,000
63,455,561
63,433,949
58,026,539
43,223,105
32,867,465
31,871,685
29,592,633
28,160,761
Source: Indecon (2014) Review of Certain Matters Relating to BnG, p.ii
Table 5: Proportional turnover
Tote receipts
Bookmaker income
Gate
receipts
/
programme sales
Catering income
Sponsorship - Board /
Private Tracks
Entry Fees - Board /
Private Tracks
Dog Sales Commission
Miscellaneous
Net return on Pension
Scheme Assets
2006
%
79.6
1.4
2007
%
76.2
1.2
2008
%
75.9
1.3
2009
%
76.1
1.4
2010
%
74.4
1.3
2011
%
74.9
1.1
2012
%
74.9
1.0
2013
%
74.1
0.9
9.0
9.3
9.4
8.8
9.7
10.2
10.2
10.8
4.7
4.8
4.7
3.9
4.2
4.4
4.2
4.6
2.0
3.3
3.0
3.5
2.7
3.0
3.2
3.1
1.4
2.6
2.9
3.6
4.2
4.1
4.2
4.4
0.1
1.5
0.1
2.0
0.1
2.2
0.1
2.6
0.1
3.5
0.1
3.6
0.0
3.9
0.0
4.1
0.3
0.5
0.4
0.1
-0.1
-1.3
-1.6
-2.0
Source: Oireachtas Library & Research Service calculation based on Indecon (2014) Review of Certain Matters
Relating to BnG, p.ii
45
Note that the Bord na gCon Annual Report 2014 was published on 31 August 2015.
Page 34
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Appendix 2: Summary of Key Features of Legislation (Governance and
Structures)
Table 6: Legislative overview
Legislation
Purpose
Greyhound Industry Act,
1958



Establishes BnG.
Defines composition of and process of nomination and appointment to and dismissal from the Board of BnG.
Identifies the functions of BnG and the role of the ICC as subject to the general control and direction of BnG.
Greyhound
Industry
(Amendment) Act, 1993


Removes the requirement that up to 3 members of the Board be drawn from the Executive Committee.
Introduces staggering of board appointments.
Horse
&
Greyhound
Racing (Betting Charges
& Levies) Act, 1999
Permits BnG to establish and control subsidiary companies that in turn can enter into joint ventures with 3rd parties.
Horse
&
Greyhound
Racing Act, 2001
Requires the BnG CEO to give evidence to the appropriate committee of the Oireachtas.

Greyhound
Industry
(Control Committee and
Control
Appeals
Committee) Regulations,
2007




Greyhound
Industry
(Racing)
Regulations,
2007
Greyhound
Industry
(Control Committee and
Control
Appeal
Committee)
(Amendment)
Regulation, 2008
Welfare of Greyhounds
Act, 2011
Greyhound
Industry
(Control Committee and
Control
Appeal
Committee)(Amendment)
Regulation, 2015
Greyhound
Industry
(Racing) (Amendment)
(No.2) Regulations, 2015
Replaces Control Committee established under Article 3 of Statutory Instrument No. 158/1993 with a new
Control Committee and new Control Appeal Committee to have jurisdiction over control and compliance with the
rules and regulations concerning greyhound racing.
Empowers the board of BnG to appoint all 5 members of the Control Committee and all 3 members of the
Control Appeal Committee subject to certain qualifications for membership.
Designates officers appointed by the Board of BnG to be Secretaries of the Control Committee and Control
Appeal Committee.
Transfers full authority from the Board of BnG to the Control Committee for investigations, disqualification of
greyhounds, and exclusion of persons from racetracks, and greyhound sales and to the Control Appeal
Committee for appeals.
Neither Control Committee nor Control Appeal Committee decisions are subject to confirmation by the Board
and the findings may be published at the discretion of the two committees.
Revokes the Greyhound Race Track (Racing) Regulations, 1993 and subsequent amendments thereto and
specifies:
 qualifications for conduct of racing including weight variations, conditions of entry into and withdrawal of
greyhounds from races, and conditions of dog ownership.
 racing procedures and conditions for declarations of “No race”.
 rules for race cards, prize monies, stakes, entry fees, Classics / Features / Sweepstakes, track records.
 rules for appointment of key track officials and stewards and their duties, powers and number.
 duties of race track executives including record keeping, compliance with directions from and reporting to the
board of BnG.
 procedures for handling of appeals.
 rules for handling of betting disputes and betting regulations for instances of dog withdrawals, dead-heats and
photo-finishes.
Amends Greyhound Industry (Control Committee and Control Appeal Committee) Regulations, 2007 and substitutes:



observations by the board of BnG for observations by the Control Committee during an appeal.
the Board of BnG for the Control Committee as a party to an appeal.
the Board of BnG for the Control Committee as the party that can make submissions and requests for oral
hearings to the Control Appeal Committee in relation to an appeal.
Adds the Board of BnG as the second recipient of notices of appeal received by the Control Appeal Committee.
Provides for the regulation of the operation of greyhound breeding to be optimised and established a register of
greyhound breeding establishments. Act allows for penalties of up to €5,000 and / or up to six months in prison.
The result of any adverse analytical tests of a greyhound for prohibited substances will be published (following
confirmation of the presence of banned substances and ahead of a hearing by the Greyhound industry’s Control
Committee).
Information relating to that greyhound will also be published and the greyhound immediately banned from racing until
a further a test is undertaken.
Source: Indecon (2014) Review of Certain Matters Relating to Bord na gCon, p.27 and Oireachtas Library &
Research Service.
Page 35
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Appendix 3: C&AG Special Report into the Development of Limerick Greyhound
Racing Stadium
Following a significant rise in the borrowings of BnG (from €10m-€11m in 2006/7 to €20m+ in
2014) arising principally from the €21m development of Limerick Greyhound Stadium, the
C&AG investigated the issue and published a Special Report in August 2014.
The main findings of the Report are as follows:

The stadium project, contemplated since 2000, was completed in October 2010 at
Greenpark for a cost of €21m;

BnG purchased a 16-acre site at Meelick for €1.02m in April 2005. Inclusive of initial
development costs, the total cost of the site was €1.75m. It was concluded ultimately
that access difficulties made this site untenable and an alternative was required (though
the site was retained by BnG). The site was valued at the end of 2012 at €150,000.

In June 2008, BnG purchased an alternative 11.5 acre-site at Greenpark for €3.4m. The
Board had already approved a budget of €17.8m (excluding VAT) for the design and
construction of the new stadium in April 2008.

There were questions around the thoroughness of the manner in which the capital
appraisal of the project was undertaken, particularly relating to revenue forecasts and
forecast activity levels. The C&AG found no evidence that BnG had conducted sensitivity
analysis which would have allowed it to identify the commercial viability of the project
which it states “was heavily dependent on assumptions around increases in the tote
betting contribution and track profit”. Notably, BnGs profit from racing had declining
significantly in 2008 – the year before the decision was formally taken to proceed with
the Limerick development;

Overall, forecasted profits from the track operation and the tote at Limerick have been
well below the projected levels and are forecast to remain so in the period to 2015.

As a result of the project, net borrowing for BnG has significantly increased from less
than €10m in 2007 to approximately €23m by December 2012. BnG has a borrowing
limit of €25m as sanctioned by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism in 2007.
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Appendix 4: The Indecon Review and Bord na gCon response
Commissioned by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, a review into certain
matters relating to BnG was published in July 2014.46 A summary of the report and
recommendations is provided in the Table below.
Table 7: Indecon Review of Certain Matters relating to Bord na gCon (Summary)
Area
Topic
 Revenue from racing facilities for BnG (excluding income
from the HGRF) have declined significantly in the period
between 2006 and 2013, crystallised by a reduction in
revenue from €63.5 million to €28.2 million, representing a
fall of 55.6%. The Tote receipt figures further reflect the
decline of the group’s finances over the same period,
falling from over €50 million in 2006 to €20.9 million in
2013.
Finances
 The debt of the organisation now stands at over €21
million as a result of the declining revenue.
 Attendance figures are also down, resulting in a fall in
income generated from gate receipts, programme sales,
entry fees, and catering income by nearly €5.5 million
between 2007 and 2013. As a result of reduced
attendances, sponsorship money has declined by nearly
€1.25 million since 2007.
Indecon Recommendation
 A plan for asset disposals should
be implemented (Rec 7);
 Calibrate the number of race
meetings at poorly performing
stadia (Rec 8);
 Priority focus on co-mingling and
fixed odds betting opportunities
(Rec 9);
 Further exploration of alternative
sources of commercial income at
stadia (Rec 10);
 Further develop the plan to
resolve the pension scheme
underfunding (Rec 11);
 BnG has implemented a cost cutting programme, reducing
overall expenses in half (from 2006 levels);
 BnG faces an underfunded pension plan. This
underfunding stood at nearly €7 million at the end of 2013;
 The success of a recent strategic plan (2013-2017) is
dependent on expanding income from new products,
advertising, sponsorship, and Tote revenues. In
conjunction with this, costs have been reduced significantly
and it will be difficult to find areas where they can be
reduced further unless the number of races held at each
venue is altered. The Indecon report cites the main
concern as the inability of existing revenue streams to
adequately support the current level of activity in the
sector.
Governance
 The Main Board, consisting of a Chairperson and six
members, is relatively small. This raises the issue of
whether or not there is a sufficient mix of resources to
meet challenges and Indecon recognises skill gaps in the
report. In particular, a dearth of financial expertise on the
Board needs to urgently be addressed in the face of the
financial problems facing BnG. There also exist skill gaps
in the legal and marketing fields on the Board.
 Board members also sit on a number of sub-committees
and other subsidiary boards, meaning that they attend a
large number of meetings and thus the demands on them
may be unrealistic.
 Another potentially damaging feature of the Board’s
46
 Strengthening of Board of
Directors and management (Rec
1);
 Immediate appointment of Risk
Officer (Rec 2);
 Quarterly review by Main Board
and Audit Committee of an
updated Risk Register (Rec 3);
 Revised corporate governance
procedures to be developed (Rec
4);
 Enhanced reporting by internal
auditors to the Board (Rec 5);
Indecon (2014) Review of Certain Matters Relating to Bord na gCon, July 2014.
Page 37
Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
structure is the frequent re-appointment of members for
multiple terms, therefore inhibiting the emergence of new
and innovative ideas.
 BnG to ensure adequate internal
resources to meet the needs of
the organisation (Rec 6).
 The report notes that the identification and dealing with the
subject of risk is an issue poorly addressed by the Board.
Personnel matters – in particular, absences - have been
identified as a stumbling block preventing thorough
auditing of the organisation. The auditing problems have
been somewhat addressed recently by the outsourcing of
some auditing procedures in June 2013, and by the
establishment of an Executive Risk Committee.
 The report highlights the construction of a new racing
venue at Limerick as an example of how poor corporate
structure and practice led to bad decision-making on the
venue. Critical assumptions and Tote receipt estimates
were unchallenged at the decision-making stage, and no
sensitivity analysis was presented. The Indecon report
declares the appraisal of the Limerick racecourse project
inadequate. Arising from the Limerick project, BnG have
pledged to complete a detailed project approval exercise
for all capital projects costing more than €25,000, and to
undertake risk assessment and sensitivity analysis for
future plans.
 BnG is responsible for the regulation of the industry under
the Greyhound Racing Industry Act 1958. The report
welcomes the recent appointment of a Director of Racing
Governance & Compliance to strengthen the area of
regulation.
Regulation,
Animal
Welfare and
Breeding
 The two central bodies for regulation are the Control
Committee and the Control Appeal Committee. The report
recognises the potential for serious reputational damage to
the industry arising from decisions concerning cases
where greyhounds have tested positive for banned
substances, and recommends a more rigorous control
system for effective regulation.
 The report investigated the evidence on the testing
conducted by the Board, and was encouraged by the fact
that a large number of samples had been taken from
greyhounds at racetracks. However, the report identified
two major issues. Firstly, the number of positive tests
found, and secondly, the gap between the number of
positive tests and the number of adverse findings
published. Indecon was also concerned with procedural
issues, principally the practice by the Control Committee of
dismissing positive tests on the basis of differing storage
temperatures in laboratories.
 It is recommended that that the workload involved in
testing might be better met in a large specialist laboratory
as opposed to being conducted in the National Greyhound
Laboratory in Limerick. However, the report recognised
that the high capital costs involved in investing in modern
testing equipment may be prohibitive.
 Legally, BnG does not currently have the right to conduct
off-course testing, a significant deficiency in greyhound
Regulatory Controls
 The Minister to appoint the
members
of
the
statutory
independent Greyhound Racing
Control Committee and Control
Appeal Committee (Rec 12);
 Rigorous
procedures
and
processes for regulatory control
must
be
consistently
implemented (Rec 13);
 Mandatory penalties including
exclusion
orders
and
disqualification orders to be
imposed
for
breaches
of
regulations (Rec 14);
 Regulations
and
procedures
should be introduced to ensure
effective enforcement of penalties
(Rec 15);
 Both BnG and the ICC should be
able to independently serve
exclusion
orders
and
disqualification orders (rec 16);
 Off-track testing for prohibited
substances to be implemented
(Rec 17);
 Data on the number of tests
undertaken, the number of
positive tests and the number of
adverse findings to be published
(Rec 18);
 All adverse findings to be
published
within
pre-defined
periods subject to rules for
adjournments and appeals (Rec
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
regulation.
 Likewise, the report recommends exclusion and
disqualification orders as standard punishments in cases
of greyhound cruelty. Additionally, it is recommended that
the range of potential sanctions be widened and that that
more resources should be invested in unannounced
inspections.
 The number of greyhounds being bred for racing has fallen
steadily in recent years, and Indecon notes that this limits
the numbers of racing dogs, which has a knock-on effect in
terms of race attendance figures and Tote income.
19);
 Consideration
of
laboratory
testing to be transferred to
independent laboratories over
time to ensure economies of
scale (Rec 20);
 Licencees to disclose on an
annual basis any adverse
findings and any information in
relation
to
matters
under
investigation as part of their
licence application (Rec 21);
 Formal
information
sharing
arrangements to take place with
enforcement agencies including
Customs and Excise and An
Garda Siochána (Rec 22);
Greyhound Welfare
 Strengthen the sanctions for
animal cruelty (Rec 23);
 Additional supports should be
provided
for
rehomed
greyhounds (Rec 24);
 Data on the number of welfare
inspections
and
penalties
imposed should be published
(Rec 25);
Breeding Greyhounds
 A specific additional breeding
incentive should be considered
by BnG (Rec 26);
 Once BnG’s debt is reduced and
surpluses generated, additional
prize money should be provided
(Rec 27).
Bord na gCon response
Following the publication of the Indecon Review, BnG submitted an action plan on 10 October
2014 with timelines for implementing the 27 recommendations.47 According to its response to
the Review, BnG also stated the following:
“While there will be ongoing consultation on the progress of these implementations, IBG
is committed to submit a formal appraisal progression report of all recommendations to
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine by year end 2015”. 48
An update to the action plan was provided to the Committee on 16 October 2015 and states the
following:
47
Bord na gCon (2014) Irish Greyhound Board response to Indecon Report of Certain Matters Relating to Bord na
gCon, 10 October 2014.
48
Ibid, p. 22.
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Table 8: Implementation of Indecon Review recommendations – progress to date
Status of Recommendation (colour code)
Implemented.
In the process of being implemented.
Subject to further review.
Requires amending legislation.
Recommendation
1. Strengthening
of
Board
of
Directors
and
management.
2.
Immediate
appointment
of
Risk Officer.
3.
Quarterly
review of updated
Risk Register
4.
Revised
Corporate
Governance
Status
Additional appointments to the Board
and the restructured appointment
process
Subject to Departmental (DAFM)
Review
Board members to step down from local
boards
Approved
Review of subsidiary structure
Reviewed and revised structure to
be implemented
Training for Board members
Implemented
Review effectiveness of Board
Ongoing
Expansion of Executive Risk Committee
& appointment of Risk Facilitator
Implemented
Risk communication policy
Implemented
Updated risk register reviewed by Audit
Committee & Board
Implemented.
Ensure sufficient risk rating to key risks.
Implemented.
Complete review with introduction of
new internal Code of Corporate
Governance appropriate to the BnG
Work ongoing.
Division of responsibilities
executive and the Board
Ongoing.
between
Ongoing.
Internal staff communication policy
5.Enhanced
Reporting
by
Internal
Auditors
directly to the
Board
Enhanced reporting by
committee to the Board
the
Audit
Implemented.
Audit Committee to set annual schedule
of regular meetings & audit priorities
Implemented.
Formal tender for internal audit services
with chosen service provider to be
Appointed.
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
approved by the Board.
6. BnG to ensure
adequate internal
resources to meet
the needs of the
organisation
7. A plan for asset
disposal
should
be implemented
8. Calibrate the
number of race
meetings at poorly
performing stadia
Staff Opinion Survey
Results
analysed,
staff
communication on main results
issued. Action plan on feedback
being prepared.
Review of staff structure and training
needs identified
Ongoing. Training needs analysis
underway.
Develop corporate unit
Unit in process of establishment.
Staff recognition policy
Draft policy prepared.
Non-core assets – tender for sale of
non-core assets
Former IGB HQ (Henry Street) sale
agreed.
Core Assets – Conduct zoning and due
diligence on all core assets
Core Assets – Tender for sale chosen
core assets.
Implemented.
Preparation of Key Performance
Indicators for track performance
Implemented.
Review of racing programme & financial
support for higher profile events
Implemented.
Review of operational performance and
plans for track improvement
Implemented.
Effectiveness review of Head office
operations
Implemented.
Analyse updated KPI results from all
stadia
Implemented.
Subject
review.
Restructure of levy collection process
9.Priority focus on
co-mingling and
fixed
odds
wagering
opportunities
Development of BnG
technology environments
Develop co-mingling
income streams
Conclude
providers
negotiations
information
contracts
with
Increase size of Tote Pool liquidity
&
TV
to
on-going
legislative
Implemented.
Implemented.
Trail on-going.
Commenced and on-going.
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
10.
Further
exploration
of
commercial
income at stadia
(Strategic
marketing focus to
boost attendance)
11.Develop
a
further a plan to
resolve
the
pension scheme
underfunding
12. Minister to
appoint members
of the statutory
independent
Greyhound
Racing
Control
Committee
and
Control
Appeal
Committee
13.
Rigorous
procedures
and
processes
for
regulatory control
must
be
consistently
implemented
Enhancement of archived video footage
Technical work completed. Now in a
position to market achieved video.
2015 Marketing plans:
Implemented.

Jumping in the City
Outbound sales test
Implemented.
Evaluation of F&B model
Implemented.
Sponsorship Strategy Adoption
Implemented.
Marketing resource confirmation
Implemented.
Digital strategy implementation
Implemented.
Ownership & Breeding Programmes
Industry consultation
being evaluated.
CRM/Loyalty Evaluation
Programme under trial.
Proposals to Board
Submitted to DAFM and Pension
Trustee for their consideration.
Committees should have access to
scientific and legal expertise
Subject to DAFM enactment of
amending legislation.
Staggered appointments to committees
Subject to DAFM enactment of
amending legislation.
Keep under review protocols in light of
control committee decisions
Implemented.
Set up a Scientific group to advise on
rules relating to doping and medication
control
Implemented.
Review
of
Standard
Operating
Procedures in the areas of Anti-doping
and sampling race night operations.
Track maintenance. Racetrack security.
Implemented.
document
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Ensure consistency between protocols
Implemented.
14.
Mandatory
penalties
including
exclusion orders
and
disqualification
orders
to
be
imposed
for
breaches
of
regulations
Review of potential proposals and
industry consultation
Mandatory
suspension
of
greyhounds possessing adverse
findings from 1 October 2015.
15.
Regulations
and procedures to
be introduced to
ensure
effective
enforcement
of
penalties
Draft statutory Instruments
2 SIs implemented.
SOPs complete and available on-line
SOPs completed.
Anti-doping and medication controlindependent review
Final draft report circulated.
BnG booklet
procedures
Ongoing.
(New Regulatory
Racing Code)
nd
Implemented (2 round consultation
launched and review of feedback to
take place Q4 2015).
New Regulatory plan to be launched
on
penalties
and
16. BnG and ICC
to independently
serve
exclusion
orders
and
disqualification
orders
Liaising with
required
changes
Requires
amending
legislation.
Being considered by DAFM.
17.
Off-track
testing
for
prohibited
substances to be
implemented
To be launched as part of New Testing
Framework
using
2007
Racing
Regulations, Animal Remedies Act
1993 and amendments to secondary
legislation
Testing at sales implemented,
further legislation required for all off
track testing.
18. Data on the
number of tests
undertaken,
the
number
of
positive tests and
the number of
adverse findings
to be published
Publish on website and annual report
Implemented
October 2015)
Options paper presented
Implemented.
Resource centre launched on-line
Implemented.
Complete regulations department to
build into this resource, with various
subsections
Ongoing.
Publish sampling data.
Ongoing.
Standard procedures on publications to
be developed
Implemented.
19. All adverse
findings to be
published within
pre-defined
DAFM
on
(with
effect
on
1
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
periods subject to
rules
for
adjournments and
appeals
20.Consideration
of
laboratory
testing
to
be
transferred
to
independent
laboratories over
time to ensure
economies
of
scale
SOP’s for sampling to be published to
reduce delays and increase efficiency of
chain of custody with laboratory
A number
explored.
Proposals
submitted
laboratory services
future
As per above.
21.Licence
applicants
to
disclose on an
annual basis any
information
in
relation to matters
under
investigation
as
part
of
their
licence
application
Interviews
with
trainers
under
application for a licence, attaching
conditions to licences subject to
disclosure
of
information
and
intelligence gathering on connected
parties.
Implemented.
22.Formal
information
sharing
arrangements to
take place with
enforcement
agencies
including
Customs
and
Excise and An
Garda Siochána
Meetings and knowledge sharing with
DAFM Special Investigators and various
other SGB’s,ITC,GBGB,BHA,etc
Implemented.
Introduction of reciprocal agreements
Ongoing.
23.Strengthen the
sanctions
for
animal cruelty
Intelligence lead enforcement policy to
be developed
Implemented.
Increased number
kennel inspections
Implemented.
of
on
unannounced
of
options
being
Authorise welfare committee to make &
publish adverse findings of animal
cruelty
Implemented as part of intelligence
system.
Endorsing licences for welfare abuses
Implemented.
Review allocation resources to welfare
inspections
Implemented.
Resolve transfer of ownership problem
Ongoing.
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Issuance of fixed penalty and welfare
notices under the Welfare of Greyhound
Act, 2011.
Implemented.
24.Additional
supports should
be provided for
rehoming
greyhounds
Checks on overseas agencies involved
in rehoming
Ongoing.
Increased funding for RGT depending
on BnG financial performance
Ongoing.
25.Data on the
number of welfare
inspections
and
penalties imposed
should
be
published
Publish results general welfare on new
resource centre of BnG website
Implemented.
26.
Specific
additional
breeding incentive
For review and discussion
proposed focus group
Consultation being evaluated.
27.Additional prize
money
to
be
provided
after
BnG’s
debt
is
reduced
and
surpluses
are
generated
Additional prize money will be allocated
when resources permit
with
Proposals to be announced taking
effect January 2016.
Source: BnG. Colour coding provided for illustrative purposes only by the Oireachtas Library & Research
Service (L&RS).
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Appendix 5: Membership of the Joint Committee
Deputies:
Tom Barry (FG)
Pat Deering (FG) [Vice-Chairman]
Andrew Doyle (FG) [Chairman]
Martin Ferris (SF)
Martin Heydon (FG)
Willie Penrose (LAB)
Éamon Ó Cuív (FF)
Thomas Pringle (IND)
Arthur Spring (LAB)
Senators:
Michael Comiskey (FG)
Denis Landy (LAB)
Paschal Mooney (FF)
Mary Ann O’Brien (IND)
Brian Ó Domhnaill (FF)
Pat O’Neill (FG)
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Appendix 6: Terms of Reference
a. Functions of the Committee – derived from Standing Orders [DSO 82A; SSO 70A]
(1)
The Select Committee shall consider and report to the Dáil on—
(a) such aspects of the expenditure, administration and policy of the relevant
Government Department or Departments and associated public bodies as the
Committee may select, and
(b) European Union matters within the remit of the relevant Department or
Departments.
(2)
The Select Committee may be joined with a Select Committee appointed by Seanad
Éireann to form a Joint Committee for the purposes of the functions set out below, other
than at paragraph (3), and to report thereon to both Houses of the Oireachtas.
(3)
Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), the Select Committee shall consider, in
respect of the relevant Department or Departments, such—
(a) Bills,
(b) proposals contained in any motion, including any motion within the meaning of
Standing Order 164,
(c) Estimates for Public Services, and
(d) other matters
as shall be referred to the Select Committee by the Dáil, and
(e) Annual Output Statements, and
(f) such Value for Money and Policy Reviews as the Select Committee may select.
(4)
The Joint Committee may consider the following matters in respect of the relevant
Department or Departments and associated public bodies, and report thereon to both
Houses of the Oireachtas:
(a) matters of policy for which the Minister is officially responsible,
(b) public affairs administered by the Department,
(c) policy issues arising from Value for Money and Policy Reviews conducted or
commissioned by the Department,
(d) Government policy in respect of bodies under the aegis of the Department,
(e) policy issues concerning bodies which are partly or wholly funded by the State or
which are established or appointed by a member of the Government or the
Oireachtas,
(f) the general scheme or draft heads of any Bill published by the Minister,
(g) statutory instruments, including those laid or laid in draft before either House or both
Houses and those made under the European Communities Acts 1972 to 2009,
(h) strategy statements laid before either or both Houses of the Oireachtas pursuant to
the Public Service Management Act 1997,
(i) annual reports or annual reports and accounts, required by law, and laid before
either or both Houses of the Oireachtas, of the Department or bodies referred to in
paragraph (4)(d) and (e) and the overall operational results, statements of strategy
and corporate plans of such bodies, and
(j) such other matters as may be referred to it by the Dáil and/or Seanad from time to
time.
(5)
Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), the Joint Committee shall consider, in
respect of the relevant Department or Departments—
(a) EU draft legislative acts standing referred to the Select Committee under Standing
Order 105, including the compliance of such acts with the principle of subsidiarity,
(b) other proposals for EU legislation and related policy issues, including programmes
and guidelines prepared by the European Commission as a basis of possible
legislative action,
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
(6)
(c) non-legislative documents published by any EU institution in relation to EU policy
matters, and
(d) matters listed for consideration on the agenda for meetings of the relevant EU
Council of Ministers and the outcome of such meetings.
A sub-Committee stands established in respect of each Department within the remit of the Select
Committee to consider the matters outlined in paragraph (3), and the following arrangements
apply to such sub-Committees:
(a) the matters outlined in paragraph (3) which require referral to the Select Committee by
the Dáil may be referred directly to such sub-Committees, and
(b) each such sub-Committee has the powers defined in Standing Order 83(1) and (2) and
may report directly to the Dáil, including by way of Message under Standing Order 87.
(7)
The Chairman of the Joint Committee, who shall be a member of Dáil Éireann, shall also be
the Chairman of the Select Committee and of any sub-Committee or Committees standing
established in respect of the Select Committee.
(8)
The following may attend meetings of the Select or Joint Committee, for the purposes of the
functions set out in paragraph (5) and may take part in proceedings without having a right to
vote or to move motions and amendments:
(a) Members of the European Parliament elected from constituencies in Ireland,
including Northern Ireland,
(b) Members of the Irish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe, and
(c) at the invitation of the Committee, other Members of the European Parliament.
b. Scope and Context of Activities of Committees (as derived from Standing Orders [DSO 82; SSO
70]
(1)
The Joint Committee may only consider such matters, engage in such activities, exercise such
powers and discharge such functions as are specifically authorised under its orders of reference
and under Standing Orders.
(2)
Such matters, activities, powers and functions shall be relevant to, and shall arise only in the
context of, the preparation of a report to the Dáil and/or Seanad.
(3)
It shall be an instruction to all Select Committees to which Bills are referred that they shall ensure
that not more than two Select Committees shall meet to consider a Bill on any given day, unless
the Dáil, after due notice given by the Chairman of the Select Committee, waives this instruction
on motion made by the Taoiseach pursuant to Dáil Standing Order 26. The Chairmen of Select
Committees shall have responsibility for compliance with this instruction.
(4)
The Joint Committee shall not consider any matter which is being considered, or of which notice
has been given of a proposal to consider, by the Committee of Public Accounts pursuant to Dáil
Standing Order 163 and/or the C&AG (Amendment) Act 1993.
(5)
The Joint Committee shall refrain from inquiring into in public session or publishing confidential
information regarding any matter if so requested, for stated reasons given in writing, by—
(a)
(b)
a member of the Government or a Minister of State, or
the principal office-holder of a body under the aegis of a Department or which is partly or
wholly funded by the State or established or appointed by a member of the Government or
by the Oireachtas:
Provided that the Chairman may appeal any such request made to the Ceann Comhairle /
Cathaoirleach whose decision shall be final.
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Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Page 49